Are you excited about the addition of new NCT members? While some are in favor of it, a media outlet highlighted reasons why many NCTzens are against the introduction of soon-to-debut idols.
Outlet Questions Efficacy of NCT's Infinite Expansion System Amid Units' Popularity
On October 11, the Korean media outlet Hankook Ilbo wrote an article featuring the global boy group NCT (Neo Culture Technology) launched by SM Entertainment.
In context, the media highlights whether the group's "infinite expansion" system is still effective even in their 7th year of career.
The article discussed first the news about the addition of new NCT members, through the global audition, "2022 Welcome To The NeoCiTy," which started in June. The audition is to look for the next K-pop star that will be joining NCT in the future.
While there are K-pop fans who are looking forward to the new faces that will enter the K-pop scene, a lot of NCTzens (NCT fandom) expressed their sentiments against the addition of new members.
According to the media, the first reason why some fans are not happy was due to the fact that there is that risk of not gaining positive results and contributing to the unstableness of the group once the new members were added.
In particular, NCT has an infinite member expansion concept and is currently divided into four units to cater to fans' varying preferences.
This includes NCT U, a rotating unit that selects members that match the concept, genre, and balance between members; NCT 127, a group representing Seoul; NCT Dream, a youth-centered team comprised of mostly teenagers; and WayV, a Chinese-based group.
On top of that, SM has even announced plans to launch NCT Hollywood and Tokyo, focusing on local activities in the U.S. and Japan, respectively in the future.
ALSO READ: NCT Tokyo? SM Entertainment Reported to Launch Japanese Boy Group
Currently, NCT 127 and NCT Dream are continuously establishing their status as top-tier third-gen boy groups by being million-sellers and selling out concerts both in local and international markets.
Hankook Ilbo then explained:
"This means that each unit of NCT has succeeded in establishing a series of positions in the K-pop market. Although he struggled to expand his fandom due to graduation regulations and changes in members at the beginning of his debut, they entered the current growth trajectory by abolishing graduation regulations and stabilizing the composition of members.
This is why it is questionable whether NCT's constant new member recruitment system will play the role as it is now at a time when each unit has already achieved results and established its position."
Will New Members End Up Like Shotaro and Sungchan?
Another reason why some fans and supporters of NCT are against additional members was due to the current situation of Shotaro and Sungchan.
The two members joined in October 2020 amid COVID-19, and till now, they still don't have a fixed unit, unlike other members.
Due to this, the extremely talented members are unfortunately experiencing an inevitable gap, especially since there are no recent activities involving the whole group, aside from units' respective comebacks.
The outlet added:
"With the members who have already debuted not doing their activities properly, it seems necessary to consider whether the plan to put new faces discovered through auditions into NCT is the right direction to draw a bigger picture than the launch of the new group."
READ MORE: 7 Most Anticipated K-pop Rookies in 2022: NCT Hollywood, Trainee A, Kep1er, MORE!
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
